Our Stories

Meet the Endowment Committee: Co-Chair David Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

April 14, 2016

I’m the relatively rare non‑transplant to the DC area. I grew up in Silver Spring, and graduated from a (different) Jewish day school. Lucy is a Jewish day school alum as well, from a school in the UK. The grounding and foundation in Jewish texts, tradition and practice that our day school education gave us has been immensely precious to both of us. It’s something that we’ve felt was critically important for us to provide to our own children. But finding an institution that balances a commitment to text, tradition, and practice, on the one hand, with an open, pluralistic, and multi‑denominational approach to Judaism (and to the larger community) on the other, can be challenging. We’ve been so happy to find that balance at JPDS-NC — I wish JPDS-NC had been around when I was growing up just a couple of miles from North Campus! I missed it by a few years. But now our family is in our fifth year at JPDS-NC, and our first year with all three kids on campus. We feel very lucky to be a part of the JPDS-NC community.
I joined the Endowment Committee efforts this year. It’s hardly news that a Jewish day school education is expensive. The Ru’ach campaign and other year‑to‑year fundraising help ease that burden, to keep day school within reach for as many children as possible. But a key component to keeping the costs of JPDS-NC sustainable in the long term is building an endowment that will yield dividends (material and spiritual) indefinitely. Building an endowment is a gift that our generation can provide not just for our own children, but for their children and beyond.